SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 December 1919, Page 5

SIR JOSEPH WARD.

SPLENDID MEETING AT WAVERLEY. FINANCE OF THE DOMINION. (Special to Daily New*.} Waverley, Last Night. To-day, while en route from Hastings to Waverley, Sir Joseph Ward VM tertained by the president of the Wood" ville Jockey Club. After (pending about two hours on the racecourse, dUf» ing which time he renewed acqvalntUUta with many old supporters, the Liberal Leader again started on hie jovuney, but was forced to call a halt at WMgunti to accept the best wishes of moor reel* dents. Upon arrival at Waverley he was entertained at dinner, and subsequently ,at supper. The meeting at Waverley was a memorable one. The hall was so overcrowded that the police were eompdMt'. Co close the doors to prevent any atoni people gaining ingress. As Sir Josejlr Ward entered the building Be iTSfj greeted by a salvo of cheers, and as S».' walked to the stage he was cheenft ftr'fcij most whole-heaxted fashion. It wta several minutes before the expression of welcome subsided.

Sir Joseph Ward delivered a sglmdid speech in convincing style, and wtthottt any interruptions from the Mitiiiuca. There were a few good humored fsisT* Jections and from these the spealoef scored well. A vote of thmiVa to tSt' speaker and confidence in the Liberal Party and its leader was carried practically unanimously, amidst cheer* , "New Zealand's indebtedness to-day & approximately £200,000,000 and - tH* only wav to reduce it and also cut 1 the burden of taxtion is first, jw# sources of revenue," said Sir JomjAf' Ward. This could only be dona by bringing about a better undersftadinf between capital and moderate labor a®|F ao making for the establishing Of,»■ Government representative of com* munity as a whole. Capital was bsoidi' capped without labor, and the latter could not carry on without capital, and while industrial unrest continued tb# country could not progress, and it would go back. Moderate labor Was entitled to consideration, and if it did not get it then the interests of the Donuaioit would suffer.

Regarding New Zealand's finance*, hi said we were at present* faoing m crfli# and it was not only essential that oW resources should be conserved, but also that new avenues of revenue should be opened up. Admittedly, in proportion to its size and population, New Zealand was in a stronger position to-day than any other country that had teen fighting during the war. It was the only country that wound up with a surplus' for which he, as Minister for Finance,' tpok the credit. When he went out of , office before the war he left a surplm of £850,000. This was subsequently reduced to £72,000, at which 'total it stood when he went into the National Gori crrrment. When he left it the surplus amounted to over £16,000,000. Be reconstructed the whole financial syitem of the country during the war and yet he never heard any of hie opponents giving him the credit for it. However, although we were in such' an excellent position that was not enough. Our taxation had to be reduced, and that was why he,advocated the nationalisation of coal mines, under which system the men would be treated as other public servants, and so do away with industrial unrest. He advocated the nationalisation of hvdro-eloetrie works, which would 1)1 ace the Dominion in the forefront with the world's greatest industrial manufacturing countries, and the establishment of a State tank, the value of which had been proved both in France and in Germany during the war : period, and also in Australia, Not one of the schemes would cost a penny in taxation, but all would eventually prove of incalculable value to the Dominion. Referring to the cost of living, Sir Joseph Ward said that this was a most difficult matter to deal with, but he wag confident that his scheme for the erection of workers' homes was a practicable solution of the difficulty. Building had been stopped, said the speaker, during the war because the money was wanted for other things, and to-day the working man was paying rent up to 25s a week as a result of the work being I stopped. We were over 8000 homes short. He proposed to provide home* at a weekly rent of 10s fld for a five-roomed and lis 3d for a sis-roomed house. The money he proposed to use was out of the surplus of £2,200,000 a year of deposits over withdrawals in the Post Office Savings Bank. One million could he taken to build homes for the people who . deposited it. His opponents had said the proposal was not workable, hut had thev not said the same in connection with the State Advances to Settlers Act, a measure which he (the speaker) had placed on the Statute Book in the face of great opposition over 25 years before? Not only had it proved workable, but it. bad also shown a profit of over £93,000, The scheme of providing homes for workers earning under £3OO a year could be carried out at a cost to the worker of 3* per cent, of which 1% per cent, would be sinking fund,

A "DING-DONG" GO. Says tlm Elthain Argus:—The contest fur the Stratford seat is a. regulai "ding-dong go." It is wonderful how a live candidate can galvanise an electorate.' Politics in Stratford were a bit sleepy until Mr. Masters took to till platform, and now he has made thing! fairly hum. Major Hine's supporters thought, in the early days of the con* tent, that a sure victory awaited them. But now—well, tliey don't know what to think. Mr. Masters has rattled Of the dry bones; lie has, politically speaking, stood Major Hine on his head, and upsei many other things. He is exactly the same type of man as Mr. C. A. Wilkinson. These brainy, commercial men are the sort that Parliament wants. They get things done. It takes more than speeches to satisfy them. "Get a move on" is their motto, and when they get to work they make the wheels go round. If Mr. Masters does not win , the Stratford seat he will go so dole '

to it that some people will faint from surprise. Speaking at Midhirst Mr. Masters said that he would not vote for a no-confldence motion if moved bf Mt. Holland, irrespective of whether it was moved against the Reform or till Liberal Party. That is a straight-from-the-shoulder statement.—(Published by arrangement).